At a time when my brother-in-law was having serious health problems , his wife, my sister Jane, was called for jury duty. She protested, and asked to be excused, but was refused, and so she showed up at the appointed time and date. At the questioning of the potential jurors, she gave her name and the judge responded, “You aren’t Randall Christie’s mother, are you?” Jane answered, “Yes, I am.” Randall Christie is her son , who was the defense attorney in the case before the court. Needless to say, Jane was excused. There are few human bonds closer than the bonds among family members. The likelihood of a family member remaining entirely impartial in a trial is just about non-existent.

This partiality is the very quality God seeks in His own children. At the Last Supper Jesus said: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. . . I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:9-15) Jesus is including the disciples in the family of God Himself. After the resurrection, Jesus called them “brothers” to Mary Magdalene: “Go to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 21;17&18)

Jesus ushers us all into a new relationship with God—the relationship of family, the intimacy of a family, and the partiality of a family. Jesus is the delight of his Father God when he brings “home” another brother or sister to our Father. He does this through the Holy Spirit of God working in the lives of ordinary people, enabling them to believe and accept our brother Jesus.

Jane told Randall about her experience and he quickly arranged for her not to receive any more jury summonses. She had thought that her need alone would excuse her, but it took a family member connected to the court to achieve her goal for her.

Jesus is our family member connected to the Father’s life, who works for us to forgive us and help us re-unite with our Father. Daily reading His book can open the way to draw close to God and take our places at his side.

We, like Jane, need the intersession of Christ to join the family of God, and receive

the blessings that are revealed in the Bible. I believe that his hand is reaching out to everyone who has ever wondered, “Is He real?” “Seek,” he said, “and you will find.” Open the book and read the Bible at home.

Love in Him,

Prue

John Kennedy Jr., President Kennedy’s son, was killed in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard in July of 1999. He had taken pilot lessons and was flying a small plane from New York on a very foggy day. It was a shocking disaster, as his wife and sister-in-law were on board and all three perished. The whole nation felt the loss and the tragedy of the event.

I remember over-hearing someone say, “How could he have felt that he could make that flight in such a dense fog? He wasn’t even experienced enough for such a flight.” Someone else answered, “You don’t understand. The rich don’t really believe that they will die.”

When I heard that, I was surprised, but I remembered Jesus’ words to his disciples: “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God . It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25).

Jesus was responding to a rich young man who had asked him what he must do to inherit eternal life. “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” ‘One thing you lack, he said, go, sell everything you have and give it o the poor, then come and follow me.’” He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mark 10:22)

In spite of all the evidence that wealth impedes our progress toward God and eternal life, Jesus offers another picture of a rich man of whom Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house .” It’s the incident of Jesus’ encounter with the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus’ joyful acknowledgment: “If I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:1-10)

Clearly it is not the wealth itself that Jesus condemns, but the attachments we have to our wealth. Zacchaeus didn’t have to be told to divest himself of his wealth, or reminded that he, too would some day die. Instead, he needed the presence of the God Man, the Christ, in his home accepting him and receiving hospitality from his hands. Jesus responded to him and to the other guests, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 10:10)

It’s impossible to gauge the spiritual condition of John Kennedy Jr., but it is possible to see in Jesus’ words and actions that he is interested not in our material worth, but in our spiritual willingness to receive him. Paul reminds us “Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 8:39)

Love in Him,

Prue

For two and a half weeks the contents of my kitchen have been stacked in piles around the rest of the house while we had the cabinets and drawers painted. It wouldn’t have taken so long except for the three day freeze and the two days of Jack not feeling well so the painter didn’t come.

Ben, the painter, is a remarkable craftsman. He is multi talented and meticulous , hand painting all the cabinets and drawers with a small brush and applying two coats. I was fascinated to see him rinse his brush, shake off the water, wipe the brush on his jeans; and there wasn’t the slightest streak of paint on his clothes. I stared, probably rudely, whenever he performed that ritual.

Ben reminded me of Bezalel in the Old Testament; God had “filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.” (Exodus 35:31)

Ben is a native Texan, and a gold mime of information and stories about North Texas, going back as far as the post Civil War time. We appreciated his skill in transforming our kitchen, and even more his honest and conscientious character. It was easy to see that the Spirit of God had done some work in Ben.

When David, skilled only in the sling-shot, reported to King Saul, he said, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has denied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” ( 1 Samuel 17:37)

The secret of David and Bezalel lies in their knowing and remembering the source of their successes. When that happens we witness our most remarkable achievements. Through all his struggles, David never forgot the source of his victory over Goliath. “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:21-22) And this is true for everyone who believes.” It is true today of Ben, the painter.

Love in Him,

Prue

The process of making silk fabric requires only a temperate climate, an abundance of mulberry trees, and a small white moth, the “silk moth”, to lay eggs that produce silkworms who make cocoons after devouring the mulberry leaves. The cocoons themselves are made into silk after processing, as a “thread” is unwound from each cocoon and can be woven into silk fabric

The Chinese have produced silk for literally thousands of yeas, some of those years with a total monopoly on the “secret” of the silk worm and the process of producing silk. What appears to be a simple process is really very labor intensive for the workers; timing is crucial, and drought, excessive rain, early or late frost, all impact the process. It is largely perseverance that makes a silk industry successful.

“Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

During the building of the Great Wall of China, silk was sometimes used as currency to pay the builders. Silk became vital in uniting the many provinces of China and establishing a profitable trade with the rest of the known world for many centuries. Silk is versatile and luxurious, a highly desirable textile with multiple uses and genuine beauty.

The promises of God are rich and linked to eternity. The gifts He extends supply our needs and His words echo with reassurance: “As for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” (2 Chronicles 15:7) “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1, 2)

The Chinese enjoyed the profit from their knowledge of silk, a product desired across the world. Christians of all kinds hear the call of the promise of eternal life, and respond in perseverance. The word of God comes to us like silk, full of promise and hope, beauty and fulfillment. God looks for perseverance in us.

Love in Him,

Prue

“My word! What a mess you’re making,” said Nana to us children when we were busy cutting paper and strewing it around . I used to wonder what “My word” really meant, until I read Isaiah 55:11: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven , and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

One day the disciples watched Jesus as he prayed and asked him to teach them how to pray as he did. Jesus promptly gave them his words, what we know as the Lord’s Prayer, beginning with the words, “Our Father”.

In that prayer Jesus embraced the disciples as family, and admitted them into his own relationship with God, It was as if a prince’s companions had asked the prince to show them how to address the King, his Father. He gives them the very words his Father wants to hear, and with the words, the shape of the relationship they would have with the King. As the words went out from the mouth of Jesus they began to bear all the fruit that Isaiah promised, as Christianity spread throughout the world, and they continue to bear fruit as we bow our heads together and speak His words again.

The Lord’s prayer leads us into the presence of God our Father, and places a way in our spirits to come close to God. It’s a generous gift to us from Jesus, and Jesus gave it spontaneously in response to the disciples’ request. It’s as if he was just waiting to be asked to give them his “Words”.

I believe that Jesus knew, even before his resurrection, that God was adopting the disciples and that his relationship as the Son of God would expand and he would have many brothers and sisters to call God “Father”. Jesus knew, too, that the Holy Spirit of God would be with the disciples as He was with the Father and the Sun, making their prayers a lasting bond that would never return “empty”.

More than two thousand years later the words of the Lord’s prayer rest in the hearts of believers as a doorway to God’s Spirit, and a way of life for the adopted children of God. Nana, my grandmother, was one of those. She frequently reminded us of the Word of God, and spent part of every day reading her Bible. In her life, Jesus’ words bore much fruit, helping to make His Word, My word.

Love in Him,

Prue

My father used to work in an office not too far from the school I attended in seventh grade. I usually walked home for lunch, but sometimes Dad would say, “Stop by the office and I’ll give you a lift. I’ll meet you there.” It was a treat to go home for lunch with him.

After a huge crowd of former slaves had exited Egypt, the task fell to Moses to form the crowd into a united people who would know themselves to have a unique identity. That identity included the heritage of their ancestors as well as the more recent and dramatic call of God that had brought about their Exodus.

As Moses often mentioned, it was a task too large for him to achieve alone, and God revealed to him that He valued this project enough to be personally engaged in every aspect of the rescue of these people.

“There, above the cherubim that are over the ark . . . I’ll meet you there, and give you all my commands for the Israelites. ( Exodus 25:22) Of all the instructions God gave to Moses concerning the Exodus and the tabernacle to be built, the focus in everything centers on the Holy of Holies, where God will meet with the representative of His people. It is the place where He says “I’ll meet you there,” the very purpose of the exodus itself, for God is claiming a people, a group who will become a nation which will

display what life on earth is like for those who have been “there” to meet with the Lord. “I’ll meet you there” are the loving words of God that express His own desire and intention as well as the people’s hope and opportunity.

Some of the first words that Jesus spoke after his resurrection were, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; I will meet them there.” (Matthew 28:10)

When I walked over to Dad’s office, I knew I’d get a cheerful greeting, a ride home, and lunch with my family. I looked forward to a truly good time. I believe that God looks forward to time we spend with Him. He spent centuries telling His people “I’ll meet you there”, at a place of His own design and later with the person of His own son. Meeting Him “there” is a joy and a pleasure, but it”s also meeting with One who shares our unique identity and who loves us without measure.

Love In Him,

Prue

Unblemished

The Exodus from Egypt ids the very first time that God told the Hebrew people that the sacrifices ff Lambs or goats on the night of the Passover must be unblemished animals. Afterward this the requirement became standard for all sacrifices made to God.

Before the Exodus, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all made sacrifices with no mention from God of blemishes, but on the day of Passover God told Moses,”The animals you choose must be year-old males without blemish, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.” (Exodus 12:5) “Without blemish” is a criteria simply inserted between the age and the type of the animals. To be used. Why did God insert this, and in subsequent generations insist upon it?

“I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine and the cattle on a thousand hills. . . If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” (Psalm 50:9&13) At the same time that these words are true, God required unblemished animals to be used in sacrifice to Him.

The answer must lie in the very purpose of the sacrifice. Clearly God does not feel a need for our sacrifices, yet He requires them. The requirement of an unblemished sacrifice has nothing to do with God’s “needs”, but with ours. In His infinite wisdom God knew and knows that the gulf between us is wider than we can bridge, and that He alone can supply that bridge. In requiring unblemished sacrifices, God extends a means by which very blemished human beings can approach and even please a perfect God. He extends a way of accepting a relationship with Him.

Centuries after that first Passover, God’s people had fallen away, and He spoke to them about their sacrifices: “When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?” (Malachi 1:8).

At the same time that God gave the Hebrew people a lifeline to Himself in their unblemished sacrifices, He gave them (and us) a foreshadow of the sacrifice that He Himself would supply for us to arrive at real reunion with Him, the unblemished lamb of Christ. Even before the first Passover God was drawing His people closer to Himself. The last time Jesus was celebrating that Passover with his disciples, He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20) God had always known that our need for Him is greater than any “need” He may have for us, and yet He has made provision for us through His own unblemished sacrifice.

Love in Him,

Prue

When Thomas Lincoln, Abraham’s father, sought to remarry after the death of his first wife, he traveled to Elizabethtown Kentucky from Illinois to ask Sarah Bush Johnston to be his wife and mother to his two children, ten year old Abraham and his twelve year old sister Sarah. Thomas left the children alone in an unfinished cabin for months in one of the worst winters Illinois had ever experienced.

When Thomas and his new wife arrived , the cabin and the children were dirty and cold and hungry. Sarah’s first act was to unload a tub and give baths and delousing to both children. They stayed wrapped in her quilts until she had washed and dried their clothes. The children had survived on rabbits and squirrels that Abraham caught, and occasional gifts from neighbors. They had carefully made sure their fire never went out.

Sarah brought a wagon load of furniture and foods to the cabin. Over night the lives of two shivering children began to change. Sarah, who could not read or write, insisted that Abraham and Sarah be educated, She prevailed on their father to install a wooden floor, a loft, and to finish the cabin so that snow and rain could be kept out. She had braided a rug for the floor, and brought a small stack of books to the home. She hoped that Abraham would learn to read the Bible to her in the evenings.

Those who knew Sarah said that she had a steady sense of humor that delighted Abraham, who always called her “Mama”.

When I read about Sarah Bush Lincoln, I thought that she epitomized the Bible’s description of a good woman: “Many women do good things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)

Sarah provided warmth and order and stability in the lives of her children. The woman who could not read or write instilled in her stepson a love of learning, and inspired a gift of humor and expression that bore fruit in producing probably the most articulate president in United States history . More than a hundred years after his death, school children were still memorizing his Gettysburg Address.

Sarah’s qualities came from a heart rooted in hearing scripture and responding simply in love. I believe that God delights in such simplicity in His own children.

Love in Him,

Prue

“He (Moses) persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27)

If this sentence showed up in an English composition the teacher would discount it for being hopelessly contradictory, yet much understanding of Moses and our own relationship to an invisible God is wrapped in this simple statement by the author of the book of Hebrews. The words were written thousands of years ago, but a newer saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, wrote in the nineteenth century , “Jesus is a hidden treasure, an inestimable good which few souls can find, for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles.”

Moses’ life was full of “sparkles”; Therese’s virtually devoid of them, yet both had eyes that “saw the invisible” and both persevered because of what they saw.

Probably the greatest visionary among the apostles was St. Paul, who never saw Jesus before his resurrection, but who experienced Jesus’ Spirit on the road to Damascus, and then for the rest of Paul’s life on earth. Paul wrote, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation, for in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,visible and invisible.

In Jesus the visible and invisible are combined, as he was a visible man while at the same time he is our invisible God. Contradictory as it may seem, and even be, the gateway to our hearts is both visible and invisible, and God has planned it to be so.

Moses’ vision deepened and widened as he held his staff over the Red Sea and watched the waters part, and his people finally escape from Egypt. His vision of God continued to deepen and grow until his death at 120 years old.

Therese’s vision grew as she wrote the story of her soul in pencil while she was struggling with tuberculosis. Her brief life on earth ended at age 24, and today there are cathedrals and churches built in her name on every continent except Antarctica. Mother Therese of Calcutta was her spiritual sister.

Seeing the invisible is a path to perseverance. It’s a path full of life enriching encounters with our Savior God. When we let the sparkling intrusions of the world distract us, it’s like hearing only words and never the music to songs: “In prayer, focusing on the words is like trying to drive while looking at the windshield instead of through it. (Paul Miller)

Love in Him,

Prue

Before I was married, my mother told me that the day would come when I would hear myself use an expression I had never used before, but that my husband used, “Don’t worry,” she said, “You haven’t lost your identity. You’ve just appropriated some of his. You are still your own self.” I found that it worked both ways, and we shared expressions that I hope expand both of our vocabularies.

“The days are coming”declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors. This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31-33)

The covenant God speaks of to Jeremiah is like the covenant of a marriage, and the idea is very precious to God, as He mentions it many times in the Old Testament. It amounts to the free sharing between two individuals of their individual identities without either one losing, but both gaining in the “new covenant”

At the last Supper “Jesus said,’This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’ In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, “this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’” (Luke 22:19-20)

Jesus knew that his disciples would recognize the thought of a “new covenant”, and that this one was intimate and personal for each of them. On the road to Emmaus the risen Jesus, as a stranger, explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)

When we were first married, Jack was astonished one day when I said, “ I don’t know the answer. It’s beyond my ken.” Later he told me he could hardly believe that he had married someone who would use a word (“ken”) that he had never heard. It actually troubled him and he asked me not to use it . Some time later Jack used “ken” in a sentence, and seemed to forget that it wasn’t always part of his vocabulary.

God seeks ways to grow closer to us in the context of a “new covenant”, a bond that enables us to grow In trust and in affection toward the One who created the very idea of a covenant as a way to grow ever closer to His own children, and they to Him.

Love in Him,

Prue